warm line
n.— «One of the new ways parents are being included is through phone calls such as the ones Ball gets from time to time. It’s sometimes referred to as a “warm line.” Calls can be made by any number of people—someone such as Doody, or a volunteer with a military family centre or even an officer from the soldier’s unit. “Some are doing it weekly, at least monthly,” says Doody. “We’re reaching out through phone lines just to say “How you doing? Is there anything the Military Family Resource Centre can do for you?” (It’s) to let them know they’re not forgotten.» —“Military reaches out to families of Canadian soldiers on Afghan mission” in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada Canadian Press Apr. 19, 2008. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
Some college students are using the word loyalty as a synonym for monogamy. Are the meanings of these words now shifting? Plus, a biologist discovers a new species of bat, then names it after a poet he admires. Also, warm memories of how a childhood...
Need a slang term that can replace just about any noun? Try chumpie. If you’re from Philadelphia, you may already know this handy placeholder word. And there’s Queens, Brooklyn, Staten Island, Manhattan, and … The Bronx — why do we add...